


winter is warmer with you

by OnlineUnicorn



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Post Season 2, abed needs to resolve some things, abed’s mom doesn’t even show up she’s just a plot device, trobed has Traditions, troy is supportive as always, troy’s pov but it’s still third person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 09:33:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27848602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlineUnicorn/pseuds/OnlineUnicorn
Summary: just a little insight to the lives of troy and abed during the holiday season, complete with fluff and behind the scenes character development.
Relationships: Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	winter is warmer with you

**Author's Note:**

> so the timeline for this isn’t completely concrete...it’s set somewhere in season 5 or 6 but pretend geothermal escapism doesn’t happen and troy doesn’t leave. i didn’t factor annie into this either so i guess she never moved in/she moved out. 
> 
> critique is welcome, leave a comment below!

They always take turns driving. 

It’s not something they had to talk about, they just fell into a routine. 

Troy would end up taking the weekends, because that’s when Abed visited his dad and he knew Troy would need the car more for him. But on Monday mornings Abed would be there, bright and early and sat behind the steering wheel with two cups of coffee while Troy stumbled into his seat. 

Abed didn’t mind mornings, he didn’t mind being late because of Troys’s lazy morning habits either. Being late didn’t make him nervous, it gave him a chance to think of fun excuses to give to the whoever was on the receiving end of their journey. That was a car game they played- who could come up with the craziest yet slightly believable excuse. Our car hit a fire hydrant after dodging a stampede of squirrels but was miraculously saved from any dents or marks so you can’t prove it happened? Yep, just crazy enough to work (it didn’t, Annie had just raised an eyebrow and handed them outlines for their parts of the project because she knew better than to open that can of worms). 

So what struck Troy as odd this morning wasn’t Abed’s out of the blue request for a drive, it was the man’s nerves, a large staticky ball of energy that filled up the air of their cramped car. He hadn’t named a specific location and Troy didn’t ask, he knew he would never say no to Abed. He had slid on his best (only) snow boots and cranked up the heat, hoping the car, and Abed, would warm up sooner than later. 

Troy didn’t end up paying much attention the drive after that, he’d been too worried about Abed. Because Abed doesn’t get nervous about driving. Abed only gets nervous about running out of pasta for buttered noodles, or getting locked in small spaces like the elevator rides in big buildings, or every autumn when the clock goes back an hour for daylight savings, or even when his favorite show gets cancelled before the finale. 

These are all certified Things That Should Be Avoided listed in Troy’s head so that he minimize Abed’s distress whenever possible. 

But right now Troy is confused, because driving isn’t on the list, or, at least, it wasn’t. 

Abed likes driving, because it has rules. The green light means go, the red light means stop, and on and on and on. 

By now, Troy realizes, they have been parked in a driveway for a few minutes and Abed is just staring at the house in front. He knows better than to ask Abed what’s wrong, because he’s spilling out an explanation before Troy can even open his mouth. 

“This is my mom’s house. It’s not my  
house, it’s her new house that she lives in with her new family. She called me last week and wants to know if we can try talking again. We’ve had a few conversations so far so the invitation wasn’t unexpected. Do you want to come inside with me?” By the end, Abed is looking over at him with his classic head tilt.

It dawns on Troy, it’s December 9th. 

A part of him feels upset for not remembering, but he knows it’s okay. Abed hadn’t shown any signs of distress similar to the ones years ago on that fateful stop-motion Christmas because for one, Troy didn’t attempt to therapize his every waking moment like some people do. And two, they didn’t work to avoid it. Purposefully preventing an imaginary simulation with symbolic representations of your problems is exactly the kind of thing to stress Abed out, so they talked about it.

Stop-motion reality isn’t bad, it’s just like any other session in the dreamatorium, as long as they follow rule #1: never fall in too deep. 

But after all that, Abed hadn’t even needed a stop-motion episode this year. They’d woken up under the thick layer of comforters and blankets used to fend from the ever decreasing winter temperatures and made pancakes together. They had watched classic holiday movie #9 (a 25 day cinematic countdown to the trifecta epitome of merry movies: How The Grinch Stole Christmas versions 1 through 3, each with it’s own redeeming qualities) accompanied by Troy’s famous hot cocoa recipe (a pre-packaged mix he handpicked from the grocery store shelves).

It seemed understandable that the two, or only Troy as it would seem, had forgotten about Abed’s long lost traditions with his mom. They had made new ones, together. 

They even made time for a small, half hour session in the dreamatorium to revisit christmastown and it’s well known Cave of Frozen Memories. 

They took turns, each detailing one memory of choice to explain and express to the other. The rule, of course, was one memory per member. A frozen cave is a fragile thing, and one must be careful when digging up old memory blocks. 

Throughout all of this, Troy hadn’t realized how or when Abed had gotten in touch with his mom, but it was of little consequence, he was happy knowing what it meant to Abed. 

He was however, a little wary of this woman who had hurt Abed, but he wasn’t going to say anything that would ruin the hope on the other man’s face. Abed was still looking at him, waiting for an answer. Silly of him, Troy doesn’t know what he could possibly be expecting besides the obvious.

“Of course Abed, you know that.” He splits into a grin infectious enough to make Abed nod.

“Cool cool cool” One signature handshake later and they’re marching up snow covered steps to the door, hands stuffed in jacket pockets to fight the biting wind. 

Abed reaches to press the doorbell, leaning in front of Troy and he can see him swallow, the nerves have gotten stronger, the static around them is charged. If that weren’t enough for Troy to notice, he started to fidget with his right hand sleeve as well, so Troy grabs it without a second thought. The door knob turns, and Abed squeezes his hand tightly, enough for Troy to feel the metal of his ring against his own fingers. He smiles a little, knowing Abed was probably fidgeting with his on the other side. 

Maybe it wouldn’t be okay, and maybe it would, but they would be in it together.

**Author's Note:**

> if you liked this work visit my twitter! i talk abt community on there a lot @/fishclownkstan


End file.
